Below is a list of policies that apply to all SHPRS graduate students.  It is the students responsibility to be familiar with these policies and understand how they may be affected. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact your academic advisor.  Program-specific policies can be found on the program pages (see menu on left of page) and policies related to Teaching Assistants and Associates can be found on the TA Policies & Procedures page. 

1. Computer, Internet, and Electronic Communications Policy

Click here to check policy of computer, internet and electronic communications.

2. ASU Student Code of Conduct

The Student Code of Conduct sets forth the standards of conduct expected of students who choose to join the university community. Students who violate these standards will be subject to disciplinary sanctions in order to promote their own personal development, to protect the university community, and to maintain order and stability on campus. All students are expected to adhere to the ABOR Student Code of Conduct.

3. ASU Academic Integrity Policy

The School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies strongly supports the high standard of academic integrity set by ASU. Failure of any graduate student to meet these standards, either in academic coursework or related research activities, may result in serious consequences including suspension or expulsion from the university or, if discovered after a degree is awarded, may result in the university revoking that degree. 

Students must take an academic integrity training before their first semester on MyASU. 

Violations of academic integrity include the obvious offenses of cheating, fabricating information/results, tampering and plagiarism, but also include aiding and/or facilitating such activities and, in some cases, failing to reference one’s own work. It is extremely important that students become familiar with what academic integrity entails so they do not inadvertently “cross the line.” The Graduate College recommends several websites to help students with this:

• • •  ASU Academic Integrity Policy (Office of the Provost)

    • ASU Student Academic Integrity Resources

    • CLAS Academic Integrity Webpage

History students should also become familiar with the Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct on the American Historical Association website.

4. Research Integrity and Assurance

The Office of Research Integrity and Assurance’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversees all research at ASU that involves living human or animal subjects. (Note: most oral history interviews no longer require IRB review.) Students should plan to contact the IRB in the planning stages of their research to get approval, if necessary, prior to initiating research.

Students are required to contact the IRB in the planning stages of their research to obtain approval prior to initiating any investigations. The Office of Research Integrity and Assurance requires that the student’s faculty committee member supervising the research also has IRB approval. When a thesis or dissertation document is submitted to Graduate College for format review, the document is also checked by IRB. Failure to follow the procedures set by the IRB may result in the student not being able to include the data collected for that particular research. 

 Further information can be found on the Institutional Review Board website.

5. Safety, Discrimination, and Harassment 

All ASU students and student organizations are bound by the University’s Code of Conduct, which promotes an educational environment that encourages respect, honesty, safety, and collegiality. The Code of Conduct and directions for filing a report can be found on the Dean of Students webpage. Students are encouraged to report any breach of the Code of Conduct or any concerns about other students or members of the ASU community to the Graduate coordinator or DGS. Anonymous reports of misconduct may be filed with the Dean of Students using the Campus Community Incident Report form. Additionally, ASU takes sexual violence seriously and aims to prevent sexual violence. More information and directions for handling incidents of sexual violence can be found on the Sexual Violence Prevention website. 

Institutions of higher education have a large community of people with a variety of backgrounds and beliefs and a large international presence. Arizona State University welcomes diversity among students, staff, faculty, and visitors. ASU has strict policies against discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, and qualified veteran status. Providing a safe environment, free from harassment (sexual, religious, racial, etc.), is a priority concern for ASU and should be reported immediately when it occurs or is witnessed. 

There are different types and levels of discrimination and harassment. Students should become aware of them so they are careful not to cause an offense and to recognize when they have become a victim. Descriptions can be found in the Academic Affairs Manual. Students who witness offensive behavior or experience inappropriate and unwelcome responses should contact the Office of Equity and Inclusion (Phone: 480-965-5057). All information is kept confidential and it is the responsibility of everyone to report instances when observed. Retaliation against those who report such behavior is not tolerated and every effort will be made to protect those involved.

6. Enrollment and Tuition

A. Registration and Tuition

Graduate students register for courses through MyASU according to their enrollment appointment dates. Details regarding registration and course drop/add procedures are provided in the Registration and Tuition Payment Guide.

A guide to tuition, tuition estimator, tax forms, and information about payment plans can be found on the Student Business Services website.

B. Continuous Enrollment

Once admitted, students must enroll continuously, each fall and spring semester, until all requirements for the degree have been met. Students who have completed all course requirements may enroll in HST 595 Continuing Registration credits. Continuing Registration meets the continuous enrollment requirement but is not graded. A “Z” is assigned as the final grade. 

A student may apply for a leave status with the Graduate College; however, this leave status cannot exceed a maximum of two semesters during the student’s enrollment in their program. A student on leave is not required to pay fees but is not permitted to place demands on university faculty or use any university facilities, e.g., the library. An application for leave status (for reasons including the birth of a child or military leave) must be endorsed by the student’s Advisor and the SHPRS Director of Online Graduate Programs before submission to the Graduate College for final approval. This request must be filed prior to the beginning of the term in which the student will take a leave of absence. The Request to Maintain Continuous Enrollment form can be found on the Graduate College website.

Students who fail to maintain continuous enrollment without obtaining an official leave approval from the Graduate College will be removed from the graduate program by the Graduate College. The student may reapply for admission; however, the student must pay reapplication fees and re-admission is not guaranteed.

C. Full-Time & Half-Time Status 

Students must enroll in at least one class in either Session A or Session B each fall and spring semester. Summer enrollment is not required. To achieve full-time enrollment status, students must enroll in nine credit hours each semester. Most students in this program enroll in half-time study, which entails five to six hours each semester. 

International F-1 and J-1 Visa students must maintain full-time enrollment status. Any exception to full-time enrollment must be previously approved by the International Student and Scholars Center. More information can be found in the Graduate Policies and Procedures Manual, published by the Graduate College.

To obtain an Enrollment Verification for financial aid, Marine Corps, Visa, or other purposes, go to My ASU > My Classes > Grades & Transcripts > Transcripts & Test Scores > Enrollment Verification.

D. Enrollment Verification Requests

Students who have completed coursework and are enrolled in HST 595: Continuing Registration, but who wish to be considered half- or full-time for insurance or loan deferral purposes can submit an Enrollment Verification Request to the Graduate Programs Coordinator, who will obtain the SHPRS Director’s signature and submit the form to the Registrar on the student’s behalf.

E. Withdrawal Requests

Before considering complete withdrawal, students should explore the possibility of “Incomplete” grades, which allow a student additional time to complete coursework based upon a documented agreement signed by the professor, student, and DGS. More information can be found in section 19 of this handbook. Questions should be directed to the Academic Success Specialist.

A student may apply for a leave status with the Graduate College in an extraordinary case in which serious illness or injury (medical leave), significant personal situation (compassionate leave) prevents a student from continuing classes, or in the case of military activation. This leave status cannot exceed a maximum of two semesters during the student’s enrollment in their program. A student on leave is not required to pay fees but is not permitted to place demands on university faculty or use any university facilities including the library. 

More information on withdrawals can be found on the Graduate College Registration webpage and the CLAS Medical/Compassionate Withdrawal webpage. The “Master’s/Certificate Request to Maintain Continuous Enrollment” form can be found on the Graduate College website. Students requesting leave who are on financial aid are strongly encouraged to consult Financial Aid and Scholarship Services prior to requesting the leave. International students with an F1/J1 visa must consult with the International Students and Scholars Center to discuss the immigration consequences that may result from their withdrawal from ASU.

7. Transfer Courses

Students may request that graduate credit earned at ASU or another accredited university be used toward program requirements if the coursework was completed within three years of the first semester of admission to their program. The courses must be discipline-related and may not have been used toward a previous degree. Up to 12 credit hours may be used upon the approval of the student’s advisor and the Associate Head of Graduate Studies.

An official transcript showing the final grade for the course(s) needs to be on file with the Graduate Admissions Office. The student submits a written request with a copy of the syllabus and a statement from their advisor in support of the request to the Academic Success Advisor or Graduate Coordinator, who will present the request to the Associate Head of Graduate Studies and notify the student of the decision.

8. Grades 

A. Overview

Graduate students are expected to maintain high grades in all courses in order to show mastery of course material and skills. ASU’s grading scale can be found on the Grades and Grading Policies webpage. Translations of numerical grades (1-100) into letter grades (“A” through “E”) can be acquired from instructors. In rare cases, graduate courses are offered on a Pass/Fail basis, in which case a student will earn either a “Y” to indicate passage or an “E” to indicate failure. A grade of “Y” contributes to a student’s earned hours but does not affect GPA. A failing grade of “E” is calculated into a student’s GPA. Courses with grades of “D”, “E”, or “W” and audited courses (graded as “X”) cannot be included on an iPOS. Students may be required to re-take core courses if earned grades are below the standard set by their program.

Students who wish to dispute a grade should refer to the CLAS Academic (Grade) Grievance webpage for instructions. 

B. Auditing Courses

In some cases, students may choose to audit a class, allowing them to attend but not earn credit. Students must obtain approval from the instructor and their supervisory committee chair prior to enrollment. Auditing is not an option for every course; contact the Academic Success Advisor to determine whether auditing is an option. This grading option may not be changed after the drop/add period has ended. Audited courses are given a final grade of “X”. Audited courses do not count toward full-time enrollment calculations or the minimum number of credits required for international students with visa restrictions or students receiving financial assistance. Audited courses do not satisfy Graduate College continuous enrollment policies.

C. Incomplete Grades

If a student doing acceptable work in a course needs additional time to complete coursework after the end of a term because of extenuating circumstances (illness or other circumstances beyond a student’s control), an “Incomplete Grade Request” form must be completed by the student and instructor and filed with the Academic Success Specialist at the end of the term in which the “I” is entered. The form can be found here and on the ASU Registrar's website. 

Graduate students should avoid taking a grade of “I” (Incomplete) for any graded course work. SHPRS strongly encourages students to finish any coursework for incompletes in a timely manner, within one month of the end of the term. Per university policy, coursework for classes marked “Incomplete” must be completed, and the grade must be changed, within one academic year. The instructor is responsible for entering the student’s final grade. If the “I” grade is not replaced with a final grade within one year of the official end of the course, it will remain permanently incomplete. 

No student may accumulate more than two incompletes at any one time. Should this situation occur, the the student may be barred from taking a full load of course work until one or more of the incompletes are removed, which can affect the student’s ability to apply for SHPRS and ASU funding. Students accruing two incompletes in one semester will automatically be placed on academic probation. Students with three incompletes on a graduate transcript can register for no more than one course and will be placed on probation. Students violating these conditions or who fail to meet the requirements of probation will be recommended for dismissal from the program.